If you haven't tasted Blue Bell Ice Cream yet, then you haven't tasted the best. The saying, "Big things come in small packages," can be aptly identified with this brand. But in their case, it's "Great ice cream comes from a small town."
Known as "the Little Creamery in Brenham" to ice cream lovers, Blue Bell Ice Cream was founded in 1907 in the little town of Brenham, Texas, a town of about 14,000 people located 70 miles northwest of Houston. It was initially named Brenham Creamery Company and was making butter from excess cream brought in by area farmers. A few years later in 1911, the creamery began making ice cream, hand-cranked in a wooden tub filled with ice, and delivering to neighbors by horse and wagon. In 1930, the general manager, E.F. Kruse, changed the company name to Blue Bell Creameries because he liked the bluebell flowers that grow wild around Brenham. It was then the company began to focus full time on making what is known in the United States as "the best ice cream in the country."
Blue Bell is only sold in 22 states in the U.S. - that's 26% of the United States' supermarkets - and yet it is one of the top three best-selling ice creams in the country. And the Philippines is privileged to be the first South East Asian country to have Blue Bell in supermarkets and selected establishments. It's a wonder how this ice cream with a humble beginning reached our side of the world.
According to Blue Bell, some folks say the reason Blue Bell Ice Cream tastes so good is because the cows think Brenham is heaven. If that's the case, then I'm so glad this little piece of heaven is in Cebu! I was invited to the country-themed launch and got to try seven of their fourteen pint flavors - Homemade Vanilla, Strawberry, Dutch Chocolate, Krazy Kookie Dough, Banana Pudding, Butter Crunch and Red Velvet Cake - and their impeccable Chocolate Chip Countrie Cookie ice cream sandwich.
Their Homemade Vanilla flavor is the most popular and I have to say, this is my favorite of the pint variants. It's definitely got a distinct taste different from any other branded vanilla ice cream I've tasted. Fans say, it tastes remarkably like the hand-cranked ice cream folks used to make on the porch during long summer vacations.
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| from left, clockwise: Red Velvet Cake, Butter Crunch, Homemade Vanilla |
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| Krazy Kookie Dough, Butter Crunch and Strawberry |
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| Strawberry! <3 The strawberry chunks tasted so fresh! |
The other flavors I loved were Red Velvet and Strawberry. I love that Blue Bell even makes their own mix-ins from scratch, like the Red Velvet cake and their cookie bits in the cookie dough flavor. They don't scrimp on these as well. You'll find delightful chunks in your ice cream pint, from the surface down to the bottom. :D
But the best product they have, for me, is the Chocolate Chip Country Cookie. This is THE ice cream sandwich worth talking about. It's got the real thing - soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies and a thick layer of their homemade vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between two cookies. AND, it was HUGE. I could barely finish it. Now, this, took me to ice cream heaven. The first bite was, well, orgasmic. I just had to say that. It's nothing like those pathetic wafer Korean ice cream sandwiches. Yes, I'm bashing because they're pretty expensive and they're not worth it AT ALL.
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| Chocolate Chip Country Cookie P95 |
Aside from the Chocolate Chip Country Cookie, they also have other single-serve snacks: Almond Bar and Country Cone (Vanilla and Cookies 'n Cream). I was already on ice cream coma after all the flavors and that country cookie I tasted, so I really couldn't squeeze in the country cones in my belly anymore. The Cookies 'n Cream looked really good though.
Bringing home two pints of my choice of flavors - Homemade Vanilla and Dutch Choco - made me a happy camper. After resting overnight to recover from my ice cream coma, I tasted the pints I took home. The distinct sensation that this ice cream gives is the full-bodied flavor yet light and airy note at the end. It was difficult to stop my hand from scooping more and more spoonfuls. I had this for breakfast, by the way. :))
What makes Blue Bell distinctly special is it is still made the old-fashioned, traditional way, so it tastes just like it was hand-cranked. It makes use of the finest and freshest ingredients from the farmers around Brenham. Then, it mixes in their secret homemade recipe topped off with the special skills and knowledge developed over years. When I posted a photo of Blue Bell Ice Cream on Facebook, a family friend from Kentucky commented that it's "the only ice cream I eat." That says a lot.
Some fun facts and trivia:
- Astronauts have carried Blue Bell Ice Cream into space TWICE.
- President George W. Bush had Blue Bell shipped from Texas to the White House and Kennebunkport to serve to visitors.
Visfood Corporation is the exclusive distributor of Blue Bell Ice Cream in the Visayas region of the Philippines. In Cebu, Blue Bell Ice Cream is available in pints, half-pints and single-serve snacks at:
- Rustan's Supermarket Ayala
- One Pavilion Mall Banawa
- Gaisano Country Mall
- David's Kitchen, I.T. Park
- Shangri-La's Mactan Resort & Spa
- BE Resorts
- Mooon Cafe Ayala and The Walk, I.T. Park
- every Sunday at BTC Market (Banilad Town Centre Lobby)
- Blue Bell PH office
For more information, visit bluebellicecream.com.ph and follow @bluebellph on Instagram, FB and Twitter. Share your Blue Bell experience, tag #discoverbluebell in all your online posts.
Visfood Corporation
Rm 205, TPE Bldg., Banilad, Cebu City
Contacts:
Telefax: (+63 32) 239 0308
Mobile: 0933 282 9041 / 0932 887 6762
Email: visfoodcorp@yahoo.com
oink oink,
Babe for Food
- your BFF in Cebu dining! :)
